Red Roses
by Milady2222
Summary: It's freezing, but while a very wet Jeff Hardy takes refuge in Shawn Michaels's car, the two are transported to a mysterious labyrinth where they must participate in the sick "games" of a woman seeking revenge. Rated T for language and violence.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the WWE. Obviously.

It was freezing outside, Jeff sat huddled on the dimly lit porch, teeth chattering, wishing for the hundredth time the he'd remembered the key. Matt was supposed to be back by now. He considered breaking in, but couldn't summon the strength to face another argument with Matt about the appropriateness of breaking windows.

The sky was dark with thunderclouds, and the earth (and himself) were drenched with icy water. He shuddered, and buried his chin in his knees, trying to think of warm places.

Suddenly there was the crunch of gravel, and Jeff was jolted out of his trance by a pair of bright headlights and the enthusiastic honking of a horn.

"What in the name of..." Jeff mumbled blearily, slowly standing up, tensing a little as the cold found more surface area on his body to harass. A grinning Shawn Michaels leant out of the window

"Wanna come inside? I was looking for your brother, but it looks like he's not home."

Jeff didn't answer, he just jogged swiftly over.

"Geez, you look like a frozen thanksgiving turkey. Except you're not a turkey. I wouldn't eat you for thanksgiving, neither."

"Shut up." Growled Jeff as he climbed gratefully into the car. Shawn reached behind him and came up with a blue blanket, which he tossed at Jeff.

"Warm up or you'll make yourself sick." He said, suddenly serious.

"Thanks." Muttered Jeff, teeth still chattering. He drew the blanket around him tightly, then leant back tiredly into the passenger seat. It had been a long day.

"D'you know when Matt's getting back?" asked Shawn, turning on the heater. Jeff closed his eyes and shook his head wearily.

"Well, that's alright. I can wait 'til he comes back, or we could go -"

What exactly it was that they could go and do, Jeff never found out. At that moment, a massive jolt rocked them both, and a blinding white light filled the car, causing both wrestlers to cover their eyes. Shawn's stomach dropped as he felt the two of them being lifted off the ground and shaken around. There was a deafening whirring sound, and for a moment the infernal light intensigied to a painful brightness.

Then, nothing.

Slowly, cautiously, the two uncovered their eyes. They were no longer sitting in the car. Instead, they were seated side by side on a rough stone slab. Behind them was more solid stone, but before them stretched an immense corridor which stretched as far as they could see, and further still, but that was swallowed up in blackness. Neither of them knew what to say. So they swore instead.

"oh shit" breathed Jeff

"god DAMN!" gasped Shawn.

A chill wind swept along the corridor, causing the torches along the walls to flicker, sending strange shadows along the rough, gray walls. A shiver wracked Jeff's still-dripping frame, and he was relieved to find that the blanket had survived the...teleportation. He pushed the wet hair out of his eyes and drew the blanket across his shoulders again.

"We'd better start walking, then," suggested Shawn, "It'll warm you up." He nudged the younger man forward with his shoulder. Jeff grunted in agreement, and the two of them began their way down the long corridor.

Reviewing is love, and I promise I'll hit you back – I like knowing what people think of my work, even if the opinion is "dude dis sux man" 


	2. Chapter 2

Well, here it gets interesting-er

Neither man wanted to be the first to admit the icy tendrils of fear squeezing their chests as they walked, and so they walked in silence. They lost track of time after a while, lost it in the rhythm of their shoes, in the flickering light of the passing torches, in the patterns of the stonework. The chill gusts of wind came at random intervals, and soon both Shawn, who was only wearing a t shirt and Jeff – wearing long sleeves but still damp from the rain – were shivering. The fire from the torches provided little comfort.

After a while, they had been walking for long enough for the formerly soaked Jeff to be simply uncomfortably damp, and so they stopped to rest a moment, and gather their thoughts. They sat down on the floor, and the cold stone sent fresh shudders through them. Shawn drew his knees up to his chin, and Jeff copied him. Shawn was the first to crack.

"I'm scared..." he whispered, running a shaky hand through his hair. They had been walking for hours, and the corridor seemed to have no end.

"Me too," came the hesitant reply.

The nervousness they both felt diminished, after that was out. Jeff hesitated for a moment, before shuffling closer to Shawn, throwing the blanket around them both. He felt the older man's breathing ease a little, and saw his head drop forward into his knees with a sigh.

"Shawn?"

"Mmm?"

"Don't think I'm crazy or anything, but...Do you believe in magic?"

Shawn did not look up, but his sharp intake of breath gave Jeff the answer. They fell silent again for a moment.

"I've been thinking" said Shawn, not moving his head

"Well there's nothing else to do here."

Shawn frowned, and raised his head to look at Jeff. He looked strangely exhausted, odd for someone who had been bright and energetic not long before. True, they had been walking for hours, but his job depended on his being in a good physical condition.

"As I was saying, I've been thinking, and I get the feeling I may know who did this. And yes, she was someone who was quite adept in magic. Not that I've ever had anyone to compare her to..."

"Her?"

Shawn nodded sadly.

"Rose."

He rubbed his eyes frustratedly with the heels of his palms before he continued.

"Rose... nobody knew about us. That was the way she liked it – she liked secrets. When we went out, it was always some deserted amusement park, an empty parking lot, a lonely forest. She liked that sort of thing. At first, she was terribly romantic. Kept hinting at some tortured past, the bitch, got me feeling sorry for her. Anyway, I loved her. I adored her. She was so beautiful... And suck a fucking crazy bitch."

"Oh but Shawn, that makes you love me even more."

The two men jumped up, startled by the newcomer. And what a beauty she was, indeed. Fierce, wavy red hair framed a face that was almost a perfect heart. She wore a matching dress that seemed to simply flow over her curves like a silken waterfall. And in her eyes, the red fires of madness glinted.

"From your description of me, this would be the perfect place for me to inhabit, wouldn't it, Shawn?"

There was no reply – the man appeared to be frozen in terror. His hand made its way instinctively to his back, an injury that still troubled him to this day.

Jeff intervened -"Hey bitch, what the hell are you doing with us?"

"Doing with you? Nothing yet. Why? Would you like something done with you? Red roses look ever so pretty."

Jeff barely had time to register his confusion before an unseen force crashed into his chest, knocking him to the floor, snapping Shawn out of his fright.

"Hey, leave him alone!" Shawn was thrown backwards into the unyielding wall for his efforts.

And Rose was gone – for the moment.


	3. Chapter 3

Jeff staggered over to the fallen form of Shawn Michaels, one hand over his aching chest, and fell to his knees.

"Hey man," He whispered "Hey,"

The older man groaned and rolled over to face him.

"Yeah. Yeah, just gimme a second. Wow." He rolled back onto his back, and let a rush of air escape his lungs. He lay there for a few moments, breathing deeply before struggling upright.

"Sorry you had to, you were...you know...I'm sorry."

"Hey, no harm done," Jeff winced as he stood upright. "Okay, maybe a bit of harm done. Not your fault." He extended a hand, and helped Shawn to his feet, considering him for a moment.

"Well, I guess we could wait around for queen bitch to come back, or..."

"Come on." Shawn placed a hand on Jeff's shoulder, propelling him forward.

They walked again, for hours. Jeff was beginning to feel fatigue make him light-headed. That, and he hadn't eaten since breakfast. He began to see flickers of red-clad people flitting in and out of what seemed like the walls.

"I must be hallucinating," he mumbled, putting a hand to his forehead.

"Are you seeing them as well?" asked Shawn softly

Jeff nodded.

A boy, decked out in a red tunic and trousers approached them.

"You must be the two men the mistress spoke of,yes?"

"Where'd you come from?"

"Ah, a question. No questions, I'm afraid. I'm just here to give you your meal. The mistress cares for her prisoners." He set down a jug of water and a cloth bundle in front of them, then disappeared, appearing to round an invisible corner.

"Well, come on then," said Shawn, sitting down stiffly and indicating for Jeff to join him.

"What? You're just going to eat something that...that lady thing gave you?"

"If she had wanted to kill us she'd use something other than poison, and she would have done it long ago. No, I believe she wants something else..."

Jeff sat down hesitantly nonetheless, but when the bundle revealed two ham sandwiches, wasted no time in devouring his.

"She's treating us pretty well, for prisoners." Said Jeff, around a mouthful of sandwich

"Well, the longer we're alive, the longer she can,uh , _play_ with us."

Jeff swallowed, but hesitated at taking a bite. Shawn smiled.

"Also, though, the longer we're alive for, the longer we have to find a way out."

The younger man nodded slowly at this logic, finishing his sandwich and taking a drink from the jug.

Shawn pushed his half finished meal (dinner? Breakfast? lunch maybe? They had no idea what time it might be) away, leaning back against the wall and closing his eyes. Without his usual cheeky, youthful enthusiasm, he looked suddenly old. Jeff wrapped up the remains and set them next to him, before sitting beside Shawn and throwing the blanket over both of them. He was worried – Shawn looked drained and ill, and it made him uncomfortable seeing the "Heartbreak Kid" like this.

"Sleep now, we can start again when you wake up."

Shawn nodded wearily, and the two of them drifted off into a black, dreamless sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Uh, just as a note, this isn't a slash fic. So, um, if you're the sort of person that's hanging on for these two to "get it on," apologies but prepare to be disappointed. Sorry!

Shawn woke first, and opened his eyes to find two identical ones staring straight back at him. There seemed to be an immense weight upon him, because he couldn't move nor speak. Heart thumping, he observed the creature move backwards so that it fit more comfortably in his field of vision.

_Rose_... he thought.

"The one and only." She twirled provocatively and laughed, causing the Hardy to stir.

"You know, the stone floor can't be good for your back."

_You don't say..._

Her face became a mask of wide-eyed innocence.

"Oh, but I do say! Silly man, no wonder I left you. But enough of that. How are you finding my house?"

_Big... really big._

"Oh, you are a stupid one. Of course it's big! I hope you can find your way around – It's awfully hard when you don't have magic, though."

_What do you want from me?_

"Oh, what I always wanted from you. Bit of sport, know what I mean? I'll let you go if you can find your way out, how's that sound?"

_That sounds fantastic._ Shawn felt the slightest glimmer of hope from her words

"Oh, but that would be too easy for you!" She placed a finger lightly on her pale forehead in a theatrical show of pondering.

"I know!" And with that she disappeared, her maniacal laughter tinkling and echoing along the stone walls. At the same time, the weight lifted off Shawn, and he found he could move again. However, upon standing up the twinge in his back flared up again, and he was forced to grab onto the wall for support. Jeff jumped up with a start, reaching out to steady his friend.

"I'm fine," muttered Shawn through gritted teeth. The look in his eyes dared Jeff to say something to the contrary. Fortunately he had enough sense to simply pick up the remains of their last meal and continue down the corridor.

Shawn told Jeff about Rose's words carefully, neither wanting to raise his hopes falsely nor scare him. Jeff was thoughtful for a moment, before stopping entirely.

"So she looked like she was going to do something, right?" he asked

"Yes, well" but Shawn was cut off by Jeff shushing him.

"Do you hear that?" he asked.

There was the unmistakeable pounding of footsteps, which slowly became louder. The torches flickered in time as the thing, whatever it was, came closer, and closer.

"Run," breathed Jeff, and the two of them took off down the corridor as fast as they could run. Something behind them roared in protest, and the pounding became faster.

Jeff was gasping "oh God, oh God," as they heard it draw closer despite their efforts. His inherently curious nature forced his eyes over his shoulder, and what he saw was a great, lumpy beast. Even when he faced forward again the grotesque image was printed on his mind's eye. It was like something out of an episode of star trek. There were bulbous growths all over it, and strange craters covering it's flabby, grayish-green skin. As it neared, it began to smell, too.

Suddenly, two previously hidden torches sprang into life, revealing a dead end. Jeff panicked, not changing direction, not changing speed, as if he could somehow break free by running as hard as he could at the wall.

Shawn grabbed the younger man's shirt and roughly pulled him the side, and Jeff found that there was another corridor.

"camouflaged," gasped Shawn.

Of course. All the stones looked the same.

Later on, Jeff would swear that he had realised he was going to fall before he even turned the corner. The sharp turn threw his centre of balance off, and he went crashing to the floor, but his flesh never met stone. Instead, he was slurped up by the putrid beast, and the last thing he hear before being entirely engulfed were Shawn's screams.


	5. Chapter 5 The Blob

I learned the DX theme on the guitar today. I felt accomplished 

Also, reviews are love, and I'd really like to hear what people think! (I promise to hit you back)

***

Out of the corner of his eye, Shawn saw one of the red-robed servants flicker past, and suddenly felt something cold and hard being pressed into the palm of his hand. In the same moment, he felt Jeff slide out of his grip to the floor. He whirled with a shout only to find the Hardy being sucked up whole into the largest crater-like hole of the monster.

For a second, they froze.

It was like someone had pressed a pause button. The monster looked calmly at Shawn, who stood still save for his labouring ribcage. This couldn't be the end. It couldn't.

And then the monster belched, and trundled around the corner – there was another turn!

_Aw, shit _thought Shawn, automatically going to follow the beast. He figured he had about a minute to get his friend out, when he heard a massive splash.

Rounding the corner, he saw why. Or rather, experienced why, since the floor ended at the turn, giving way to a drop of about two metres, into what appeared to be an underground canal. Shawn, however, had no time for such rational thoughts. Like the monster, he realised what had happened too late, and made contact with the icy water. Oddly, he was silent as he fell, and when he surfaced began searching immediately for his lost friend. He didn't have to look for long – there was the massive gray-green blob propelling itself slowly forwards. His hand still held a white-knuckled death grip on the object the servant had pressed into his hand. He looked at it – it was a small, white-handled knife. Strange, but useful nonetheless. He would have time to consider it later, but for the moment Jeff was running out of time. With a deep breath, Shawn submerged himself swiftly, making his way through the water with ease. As he neared the creature, it suddenly became alert, and began to turn. On impulse, Shawn thrust the knife into its flesh, and its mouth opened wide in a screech. At the same time, a hand reached out, and Shawn gripped it tightly, using his free hand to stab the creature again.

With the second screech, Shawn slipped his hand into the mouth. He felt his way along Jeff's arm, down to his shoulder, and under his arm, then pulled, sticking the knife at random into the monster. Jeff's hand grasped the back of his shirt desperately as they struggled against the massive form, but as luck would have it Shawn's foot found the creature's eye in their writhing, and with a great roar of pain the beast released them.

The two of them clawed their way back to the surface, and broke through, gasping for air. They clung to each other and the wall for several minutes, and for that time all they heard was the gentle rush of water and their hoarse panting, which echoed through the corridor, watching with relief as the beast sank slowly into the shadowed depths.

Jeff let his head fall forward onto Shawn's shoulder.

"Thanks – Thank you." He muttered.

"It's alright... Are you okay to keep going? We might find another one of those door out of here."

Jeff nodded, and they began to swim. Within the first few minutes, Shawn was regretting not finishing his last meal – swimming was a lot harder than walking. They were stopping to rest a lot more often now, barely talking. Secretly, they both were worrying what they would do when they finally could swim no further and had to stop for the night. That time was coming around fast, as Shawn could barely force his limbs to move anymore. They felt so heavy. And it was so cold...

Strange lights crossed their paths; they caught fleeting glimpses of boats, and those red servants. Shawn at one point considered flagging one down, but no, that was stupid. Or at least that's what he thought, until they rounded a particularly dark section of the tunnel, and heard a voice call out to them softly.

"Sir. Sir?"

They both instinctively reached for the wall, being too drained to tread water anymore.

Rowing towards them was one of the servants, and she passed close to them, allowing them to clamber into her boat. The two of them acted as one – they pushed her off the side , grabbed an oar each and began to row away as fast as they could. The relief from the drag of the water, and the renewed adrenaline rush gave them a sudden strength, and for the first time that day they laughed.

The laughter didn't last that long, though, because when the servant surfaced, they saw she was only a young girl, and Shawn felt suddenly guilty when she looked at them. She looked hurt.

"You could at least give my knife back. The mistress will whoop me good if I lose that."

They stopped rowing.

"Oh shit."


	6. Chapter 6 A Rose By Any Other Name

Well, here comes a _nice_ OC. You know, this fanfiction stuff is actually quite fun to write. If you've read this far, I'm assuming you like the story, so thanks in advance! : )

(As always, reviews are love :D )

***

"I'm sorry. Oh god, I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry about it."

A pause.

"I'm sorry."

"It's _fine._"

The two exhausted friends were now sitting nervously facing the girl, having allowed her back into the boat. She was rowing, with a bemused smile on her face.

"So, uh, what's your name?" Asked Shawn

"Rose. Everyone here is named Rose."

"Oh. Who gave you that name?"

"The mistress. I used to have another name, though. It started with a G..."

Jeff huddled a little closer to Shawn as another shiver shook his weary frame.

"Oh, you must be freezing. Um." Her own robes and cloak had been mysteriously dry once she had clambered into the boat. She reached around in the folds of cloth and retrieved a small book, and allowed the boat to drift for a while as she flicked through the pages. She found what she was looking for, and stretched out her hand towards them, muttering strange words under her breath. Jeff suddenly felt very strange, as all the water that was soaking his hair and his clothing began to rise up into the air in round droplets. He made to get up, but Rose hissed at him through gritted teeth.

"Don't move."

The water that had dripped and pooled at their feet began to rise up too, and for the first time in what seemed like an eternity, Jeff began to feel the pleasant warmth that comes from being dry.

Rose exhaled and relaxed, and the droplets pattered into the water around them.

Jeff looked at Shawn, who was also suddenly dry. However the girl was bent double, clutching at her head.

"Hey, whoa, are you alright?" Shawn moved over to the space next to her, putting a hand hesitantly on her back.

"Yes. I'll be fine" She whispered "– I've never done that one before... This happens whenever someone overtaxes themselves..." She rubbed again at her head, and looked up at them.

"There are blankets over behind your friend; you should rest." Jeff reached behind his bench to retrieve them, And looked like he was about to say something, but faltered.

"Is there anything else you might need? Not that I have a lot to offer..."

Jeff bit his lip for a second before asking shyly "Have you got something to eat?"

She blinked.

"Hasn't she been feeding you?"

"Not since the ham sandwiches."

"What? But that was yesterday!" She rummaged under her bench for a moment, and came up with another cloth bundle, which revealed half a loaf of rough-looking bread.

"Oh thank the Lord," muttered Jeff, accepting the food

"And thank you," smiled Shawn, shaking his head as Jeff launched headlong into his task of eating. "I always thought Matt was lying when he talked about your eating habits."

Jeff shoved a piece into Shawn's mouth.

"Shut up."

Rose laughed at them, and resumed rowing.

"You're supposed to be fed twice a day, and people don't disobey orders easily. I wonder what happened."

"Rose," Jeff said thickly through a mouthful of bread "Why are we here?"

"I don't really know. She only tells us what we need to know. What she thinks we need to know."

"Doesn't that make you angry?"

She looked away, seemingly becoming interested in the movements of her left oar.

Jeff prodded further, "Haven't you, y'know, _asked_ or something?"

Her gaze didn't shift.

"Only once."

The gravity of this statement caused an awkward silence to fall.

Still not looking at them, Rose spoke again.

"You should rest. You both look like death – the bottom of the boat is comfortable enough."

And so it was, but Shawn wished desperately for a pillow, or something that would help ease his aching back. However, he was hesitant to ask – the girl had already risked so much for them, and given them her lunch, or dinner, or whatever it was. He lay down, wincing as he laid his head back, which caused the small of his back to arch uncomfortably. Then a soft roll of fabric was slipped under his head, which he identified as her cloak.

"Thank you so much." He mumbled "I can't..."

"Go to sleep."


End file.
